Democracy for America Endorses Martin Heinrich for United States Congress

Released: Monday, September 22, 2008
BURLINGTON, VT DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation's largest progressive
political action community, has endorsed Martin Heinrich's campaign to
represent New
Mexico's 1st
Congressional District.
"Martin Heinrich has been fighting for working men and women his whole
life and he's ready to take his progressive message of hard work and
opportunity to Washington," said Jim Dean, Chair of DFA. "Whether
it was as an engineer, president of the Albuquerque City Council, or working
with Rep. Tom Udall to preserve New Mexico's natural treasures, Martin Heinrich
has the skills, judgment, and experience to get the results that make a
difference in people's lives."
Martin Heinrich grew up in a middle class family that worked hard to make sure
their children had the opportunity to succeed. His parents taught him to work
hard, play by the rules, and to always lend a helping hand. As the
executive director of an educational foundation, Martin was dedicated to
providing young people with natural science and environmental education
experiences through wilderness expeditions. As Executive Director of the
Cottonwood Gulch Foundation, Martin Heinrich tripled the enrollment, acquired
more land for the Foundation, and set up a permanent endowment for
funding.
Martin Heinrich served as President of Albuquerque City Council; his tenure as
president has been called one of the most productive periods in Council
history. While on the City Council, Martin balanced the city budget every
year and led the two year struggle to raise Albuquerque's minimum wage, after bringing together both
business and labor leaders together to find common ground. Because of this, Albuquerque is one of four cities in the entire nation with a
minimum wage above the state or federal level.
Democracy for America is a key endorsement in this race, bringing
donations from progressives and providing volunteers to participate in
door-to-door, grassroots outreach. DFA has helped elect over 550
progressives to office from Governor Deval Patrick in Massachusetts to Rep. Jerry McNerney in California's 11th Congressional District.
"Democracy in our nation is based on the voices of every American,
standing up and taking part in the political process. I'm honored to have the
endorsement of Democracy for America, not only because of what it stands for,
but also for the people it represents," said Martin Heinrich. "This
is a grassroots, boots-on-the-ground organization that gets Americans involved
because like me they know that our nation has to start heading in the right
direction, and we are the ones who have to make it happen."
"Hardworking New Mexicans have been left behind by seven years of
misguided and misdirected Republican polices, that is why Martin Heinrich
supports a permanent middle class tax cut and a return to a fiscally
responsible balanced budget," said Arshad Hasan, Executive Director of
DFA. "New Mexicans need a leader like Martin Heinrich to stand up
for their concerns and values. He will fight for a comprehensive energy
policy that breaks our dependence on foreign oil while working to bring our
brave men and women home from the War in Iraq."
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